My work at Vietnam International Education Development (VIED) has recently shifted in focus from project research to communications and institutional partnership building, allowing me to gain a more comprehensive view of some of the work that VIED engages in. The staff at VIED have taken the time to really involve me in their work, and I definitely feel that my knowledge on VIED and understanding of Vietnamese higher-education issues in general have deepened considerably over the past two months.

This is an especially busy time for the staff at VIED, as they are preparing to send many students overseas to study for the upcoming university semester, in addition to their other responsibilities. The number of Vietnamese students studying abroad through VIED has seen a steady increase over the last few years, mainly due to the Vietnamese government’s commitment to improving access to overseas high-quality training overseas, as well as VIED’s rising number of international institutional partners. Between 2010-2020, the government plans to send over 10,000 Vietnamese abroad for their PhD studies, with the primary goal of improving the quality of research and teaching in the Vietnamese higher-education system. While all of this serves to make VIED a very dynamic governmental department, it also brings to light many of Vietnam’s educational challenges, such as the enormous task of improving educational quality at the domestic level and developing the right policies and strategies to ensure higher rates of “returnees” (i.e. students returning from studies abroad). Thus, my work here has been quite interesting and has also allowed me to explore both the successes and challenges of my host organization.

Although I’ve been mostly occupied with my work placement, I’ve also had the chance to explore a little bit outside of Hanoi as well as around the city itself. One of my most memorable trips was a recent visit to Halong Bay, which consists of a series of beautiful and verdant islands emerging from the calm ocean waters. Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Halong Bay is just one of the many great and unique places which can be visited without venturing too far from Hanoi. Of course, the capital city itself has been wonderful place to live and work, with friendly people, quaint little shops and side-streets, many restaurants, a number of lakes, and a great deal of traditions and history. As mentioned in my previous posting, the chaotic traffic can be somewhat of a “cultureshock,” but it’s nothing one can’t get used to.

Now my time in Vietnam is quickly drawing to a close, and I have just over three weeks left before I return to Canada. While leaving will be challenge, I feel very fortunate to have had this formative and enriching experience and I believe that what I’ve learned here will continue to serve me well into the future.

Lunch with my colleagues from VIED (I am on the far right).

Passing through Halong Bay.

As for actually living in Vietnam, I am staying at the school’s guesthouse located just across the street from the school which makes going to work very convenient.  Living in the guesthouse has allowed me a lot of freedom, while still giving me the chance to meet a lot of people.   Because the Vietnamese culture is very social, I find myself usually busy at night with colleagues or friends playing badminton, going out for coffee, eating street food, going to the market, or singing karaoke (which if you are traveling to Vietnam, you better learn to love).

It seems as though every day I learn more and more about Vietnam.  The country is so diverse with different cultures and landscapes.  I have been lucky to have had the change to do some traveling and I find it very interesting to compare the differences between the North, Central and South of Vietnam.

Coming to a foreign country on the other side of the world, I never would have imagined how comfortable I could feel so far away from home.  I am finding it very hard to believe that I only have 3 weeks left before I travel back to Canada.  Time has definitely gone by too fast and I can only hope that the rest of my time in Vietnam is as amazing as my first 2 months.

Until next time,

-Jocelyn

Sweet potato farm in Vinh Long province

First things first, it is unfortunate that my work experience with the environmental NGO in Hanoi was not as successful as I would have hoped. I learned some new skills and got to understand more about how NGOs function in developing states such as Vietnam. But I do know that I was a bit of a test-run for PanNature. They have had many volunteers but almost all of them were Vietnamese students, save two. Due to this I am not sure they were prepared to have a short-term volunteer but they will definitely be more prepared for the following interns that come their way.

Although my work experience wasn’t as stimulating as my idealistic mind had made it out to be in my apartment in Ottawa my personal journey was very meaningful. These opportunities don’t come along too often and I’d like to think that I embraced it for all it was worth. I had the highest of highs and some slightly low lows. Being alone is not something I enjoy for long periods of time but I learned how to take care of my sanity and focus my energy and communication in alternative manners. Knowing myself, which I believe I am quite good at, I will take the next months peeling back the layers of my Vietnamese escapades through debriefs with friends and family and especially with schoolmates and professors. I find it very helpful answering questions because it makes it real to me. I won’t ever forget my time in ‘Nam and know that I will never be exactly as I was before I left but I am confident that I will understand how great an experience it was.

While still in Asia I thought the most meaningful experiences was my personal and it probably is but since I’ve been back and I’ve had the chance to answer questions other than “How was it?” I have found that my understanding of the goings-on and efforts of Vietnam’s emerging economy, development and cultural practices has been significant. I can now understand so much better reasons why emerging Asian economies take the steps they do and what kind of impact regimes can have on a people. This knowledge is invaluable.

I had the opportunity to travel a fair amount in Vietnam either on my own, with the other Canadian interns or with PanNature. Apart from the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands I saw much of the landscape and the differences in the provinces and regions. For any future interns or travelers to ‘Nam I’ll just say that Sapa is my favourite place in Vietnam and it should be a must-see for anyone. Thank you WUSC Vietnam for being fantastic in every single way, I know my adventures were made better because of your work and kindness.

The WUSC orientation during the first week was a great introduction to both Vietnam and my internship placement. We were provided with relevant information on WUSC, their partners, and various internship logistics (work plans, reports, evaluation, etc.). Some of the highlights of the orientation for me were the opportunity to meet with two current interns in Hanoi, Vietnamese language lessons, and a day-tour of Hanoi. The WUSC staff were very friendly, welcoming and helpful, and it was nice to meet the three other newly-arrived interns from Canada. My host family warmly welcomed me into their home, and have treated me with nothing but kindness and generosity. Because my host parents don’t speak English, I’ve have the opportunity to practice my Vietnamese on a regular basis (although my skills in the language are still quite rudimentary at this point).

Unfortunately, I faced a minor setback in my second week. In what was supposed to be my first week of work at Vietnam International Education Development (VIED), I fell ill with congested sinuses and a very sore throat. I suspect the source of my illness to have been the extreme changes in temperature from the outside heat to the heavily air-conditioned cool of the office. Fortunately, my supervisor and the WUSC staff  were very understanding and suggested taking as much time as I needed to recover. After plenty of rest and regular medication, I was able to return to work in full swing this week.

As a government department seeking to improve the quality and access to higher education for Vietnamese students, particularly overseas, VIED has a lot of work on its plate. Accordingly, I have a lot to keep me busy during my internship placement here, which is great. The work is challenging,  interesting and rewarding. My main project at the moment is to help VIED conduct research on establishing linkages between universities and industry, which are strongly lacking in Vietnam. However, I also find myself spending a lot of time helping to revise and edit various letters and scholarship applications in English. My work is in a quiet office with 8 staff, who are all great to work with. In addition to all of them speaking  English, one speaks French and another Mandarin Chinese, allowing me the opportunity to converse in various languages.

Hanoi is a beautiful city, and the people are friendly. One things that might take effort in adjusting to, however, is the traffic. It seems that Vietnam is famous for its chaotic driving, and I heard much about this before coming here. To quote one description (the source of which I cannot recall), and which I find quite suitable, the streets of Hanoi are “organized chaos”. People will drive every which way, and seem oblivious to any sort of traffic rules, but amidst all of this there seems to be some kind of informal system that keeps people from crashing into each other or running over one another. Drivers will honk their horns at each other to communicate, and simply move around whatever seems to be in their way. My advice for taking a motorcycle-taxi: sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride… and don’t forget to wear a helmet.

Cheers!

WUSC interns Mathieu, Paul, me, and our tour guide Duc.

Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.   In addition to his studies in California, he has studied at the University of Lyon II and the Institute of Political Science in Lyon, France.  He is been living in Canada since September 2010, while pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Ottawa in Public and International Affairs.  He has chosen to do an internship in Vietnam out of interest in Vietnamese culture and politics. He has an interest in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia.

I have been intrigued by the idea of fieldwork since I first saw the episodes of Doctors without Borders when I was much younger. Although always in the back of mind, I had not sought out a program or opportunity until now. Many thanks go out to Mariah who went to Africa with SWB last summer and has not stopped talking about her wonderful experiences there and encouraging me to apply for my own adventures.

I will admit I had assumed that I would apply for positions in Malawi after hearing all of Mariah’s stories; however once I read about the position with Pan Nature in Vietnam I was instantly attracted. It seemed like a wonderful chance to learn about my research interests in a practical environment. I am very excited for this opportunity to get hands-on experience in the NGO field by working with Pan Nature this summer! I am also very eager to learn more about the Vietnamese culture and people and taste a lot of amazing food! I must admit the idea of the language barrier is a little daunting, but after reading about how there are French influences in Vietnam, I am hoping my French Immersion background will come in handy!  In spite of this, I look forward to contributing my ideas, knowledge, and experiences to help the staff of Pan Nature accomplish their goals

My destination is Hanoi, where over the next three months I will serve as “Communications Facilitator” for Vietnam International Education Development (VIED), under the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET). My work will primarily consist of helping to build partnerships between Vietnamese and foreign educational institutions, researching international educational opportunities for Vietnamese students, and participating in the general administrative functions of the host organization (formal correspondence, information assessment, institutional collaboration, etc.). I chose this particular position because it will allow me to learn a great deal about working at the level of a government institution and engage in my general field of interest – educational empowerment. My previous experience with educational programmes has been mostly at the ground level and this internship will provide me with a greater insight into institutional governance and administration at the macro-level.

Recognizing that three months is a relatively short time, I set my hopes and expectations accordingly. Rather than an internship with a start and end date, I consider this opportunity as an integral part of my long-term goal of service to humanity within the field of international development. During my time in Hanoi, I expect to build collaborative relationships with a diverse array of people, gain new perspectives on educational issues, and develop a deeper understanding of the Vietnamese culture and language. Most importantly, I am going with an open mind and expect that regardless of the successes or challenges I may encounter, there will always be an opportunity to learn something valuable.

I am quite excited about this wonderful learning opportunity, and I am glad that I chose to do my internship through a solid and reputable organization such as WUSC. Through my experience as an active member of my campus WUSC club, I’ve gained a lot of respect for the work that WUSC does throughout the world. I share in WUSC’s vision that “Education Changes the World” and hope to contribute as much as I can to this change – both now and in the future.

Let the journey begin!

On the professional front, my internship as Assistant to the Dean at Vietnam National University (Hanoi) has been challenging and educational on many different levels. It has helped highlight the important cross-cultural communication and observation skills which are essential to surviving in a foreign work place. Additionally, it has served as a conduit through which I am starting to understand the tangible impact of globalization while thousands of kilometers away from my home in Canada. This latter point is especially evident in the context of my mandate’s tasking to help further international linkages between Vietnamese and foreign universities. Experiences such as these have shown me the rising tide of foreign interest in Western educational standards and opportunities. It truly makes a Canadian student such as myself feel fortunate at the end of the day for the immense privilege we enjoy based solely on our educational background.

My experience teaching English to enthusiastic undergraduate students has also proven to be an interesting task while here in Vietnam. I hosted two sessions each week for a large number of Vietnamese students dedicated to enhancing their English skills. Again, this showed me the inherent opportunity we as Canadians enjoy on the global stage solely attributable to the native language of many of our citizens. Ultimately it through processes such as the ones briefly alluded to above, which enabled me to grow as a person and develop throughout my volunteer placement.

So what lies ahead? To be honest, this is not so clear. My opportunity to travel throughout most of Vietnam has increased my personal awareness of how important cross-cultural interactions really are to us as global citizens. It is my hope that I can integrate these experiences into my future studies as well as future job opportunities in order to put experience to practice. For those readers who are planning on departing on a journey such as the one I have completed, your expectations may not be explicitly clear nor may you be prepared for what awaits you while going overseas. However, it is through amazing opportunities such as the international volunteer placements offered through WUSC that students can help define their professional goals, personal attributes, and sense of self in the grand scheme of things.

If asked ‘Adam would you complete an internship again?’ the answer would be an unequivocal ‘YES’. It is because of this certainty that I know I have grown in many ways from my time in Vietnam. Hopefully, this growth will give me the opportunity to come back to this amazing country once more!

Hello all,

I hope that this blog posting finds all my interested readers in good health and amongst the company of family or friends. It is approximately half-way through my internship as Assistant to the Dean at the Faculty of Tourism in Hanoi and I must say that I am truly enjoying my experience in this country on both professional and personal levels.

My work with the Faculty of Tourism at Vietnam National University (VNU) has been challenging and dynamic for the past six weeks. The mandate associated with my position aligns quite well with the daily routine I find myself in and I am extremely satisfied with the hospitable nature of my VNU colleagues. So far a significant portion of my time has been involved in researching post-graduate curriculum models around the world for related tourism programs and trying to integrate these into a practical curriculum for future students at VNU. Additionally, I have become actively involved in starting English-conversation lessons with our enthusiastic student population as well as a English-pronunciation and professional lecturing skills workshop for our Faculty of Tourism staff. All of the tasks are extremely rewarding in that I can see the thankfulness and appreciation from both students and work colleagues at my attempts to pass on my skills and knowledge in a sustainable manner.

My internship in Vietnam actually coincided with an extremely beneficial time for exploring the country and witnessing a wide array of Vietnamese customs. The recent Tet holiday (Feb 2nd to 7th) which celebrates Vietnamese New Years was an excellent opportunity for me to visit with work colleagues to pagodas in and around Hanoi, attend dinners with my co-workers families, and enjoy the festivities which mark this joyous time of year for many Vietnamese. Since the university was closed for the holidays, it also gave me the opportunity to travel down south to Ho Chi Minh City, Mui Ne on the east-coast, over the border into Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and even up to the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat outside of Siem Reap. All in all, I am extremely blessed and grateful for this chance to see the wonderful country that so many of my colleagues and students are proud of and boast about in their engaging stories and recommendations.

Ultimately, I feel that my time in Vietnam has greatly contributed to my personal growth and understanding of our international community as well. The opportunity to travel, work, and live amongst the people and cultures we often only hear about in books or television is an indescribable feeling. Whether it is gaining confidence in my ability to navigate the hustle-and-bustle of Hanoi or the increasing understanding of the importance of collective benefit and family relations in Vietnam, I feel as though this opportunity has imbued me with many new appreciations for cross-cultural communication and the quality of life Canadians often take for granted. It is my hope that I can integrate my more nuanced lens into my academic studies when  I return to Canada in April in an effort to truly collaborate the theoretical and practical education I have been privy to in my undergraduate studies.

*Strangely enough this is different from the animal sign in China. In China it is now the year of the Rabbit. This is the only sign that is different between the two countries and there is no real explanation. Some say it is because the Vietnamese wanted to distance themselves from China’s imperialism others say it’s because there are not many rabbits in Vietnam. In any case I still find it strange.

So Tet is still slightly upon us but it is winding down and the city is booming again. Elyse, Adam and I (the three Northern Vietnam interns) went vacationing over Tet to the South of Vietnam and to Cambodia. It was amazing.

It was unbelievably hot which was fantastic from the cold “winter” of Hanoi. I actually didn’t even bring enough warm clothes and had to buy new ones. This didn’t bother me in the slightest because shopping in Saigon is really great. We did a lot of sightseeing and not much relaxing but we didn’t mind. It was so nice being a full-out tourist here because we normally don’t have much time for that with work and school work for me.

I spent three days in Ho Chi Minh City and toured around and got to experience Vietnamese New Year with approximately 100000000000000 people and just as many flowers. It was crazy. It was like being in an outdoor concert and trying to move to the stage along with everyone else and never being able to get to it. We eventually settled on the sidewalk and watched an awesome firework show. This was really amusing because I’m down for getting excited about fireworks but it was as if they had never seen them before, which clearly is not the case. The people of Saigon were just so giddy and excited. I had just as much fun observing them as I did watching the fireworks. In Saigon I also had the greatest bubble tea of my entire life. It was pink flavour with about 5 shots of flavouring and colour with custard and of course tapiocas. I even took a picture. (I would post it but the internet here can be stupid and doesn’t let me do anything.

Cambodia is an amazing place and we ended up running into Erica and some other friends there totally by surprise. It’s such a small world. Cambodia is totally unreal. It is difficult to describe how different it is from Vietnam. It is a gorgeous country with the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. I want to bring all the children back with me, they’re so cute. We went to Angkor Wat and the whole Angkor archaelogical park while in Siem Reap and it was unreal. So beautiful with tons of mystery and it was really cool being where they filmed Tomb Raider as that was my favourite movie for a short time in my life. It is however a very tourist-y town. The downtown has more Europeans and North Americans than Cambodians, plus everyone speaks English. Everyone. The poverty that exists in Cambodia is difficult to adjust coming from Vietnam, especially Hanoi. We learned a lot about the medieval Cambodian history and furthered our knowledge about the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge at the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum in Phnom Penh and at the Killing Fields outside the capital. Never having been to a genocide museum or site, this experience was unlike any other. I will never forget what I learned and saw that day.

I find the Vietnamese language totally beautiful and also impossibly difficult. We have been told by some ex-pats that in your studies of the language you get to a point where unless you stop speaking English and only use Vietnamese you hit a wall. You are learning words you will hardly ever use and it gets hard to keep it going. My abilities in Thien Viet are slim to none but I get by. The family that Elyse and I live with are really good about teaching us words of everything we are eating and doing but I know for me, after about an hour I totally forget. The tones will be the death of me. You honestly think you’re saying the words exactly as they are and then they chuckle because you’re one hundred percent wrong and most likely said lunch box in stead of banana.

I am not missing the Great White North too too much but I will be honest, I miss my clothes. People who know me, know that I have an unbelievable amount of clothes. I am a bargain/vintage shopper extraordinaire and not having the selection can get me down. It sounds ridiculous but unfortunately it is true, especially when some people here dress so fashionably and there are boutiques and little stores everywhere. You cannot go ten metres without seeing another place to buy clothes. I have been really good though and bought very little. This is primarily to do with my fear of bartering. I’m okay when it comes to getting a moto but for my clothes I just want the price to be stamped on there with a final sale sign on it. Oh well, Elyse and I are probably going shopping this weekend because I need some new shoes as people, including myself, mock my hiking boots on the daily.

The work has been good. Slow but good. Before Tet everything seemed to be “we’ll do it after Tet”. And now it seems to be slowly coming back up to speed. Right now I’m waiting for a lot of editing to come my way while writing stories for the organization’s newsletter, and I’m doing some research for my school work back in Ottawa. It has to do with the organization’s principles mixed with the ridiculousness that is differential treatment in international environmental law. They are very interested in my research and help me a lot and give me great feedback. I’m not doing a lot of work but it’s still good all the same

The people at work are really great. They are not in my face all the time nor are they distant. They treat me like a regular intern, which is great and exactly what I want. Some have even taken me out and shown me around which is very much appreciated. My supervisor took me outside the city before Tet to a small pottery village and I had some delicious local food that looked positively gross (honestly it looked like a massive maggot with little bugs inside). It was delicious. It was some rice thing. When in doubt about the food, it’s probably some form of rice thing.

To follow up on the temperature debacle of my last post, it is warmer in Hanoi. I no longer wear seven layers to work and my hands no longer turn blue in the office. My feet still go numb but I’m getting used to it. It will get warm soon enough and knowing myself I’ll be begging for the cold to come back.

TBFN! Tam biet for now.

(I’m sorry about the cheesiness of that goodbye.)